P01-03 Movement and physical activity in early childhood education and care in the Nordic countries

Abstract Background The World Health Organization (WHO) acknowledges the importance of preschool children taking part in comprehensive physical activities supporting, among other things, their motor development, and competencies. A growing number of children attend early childhood education and care (ECEC), and expectations that this will support the development and learning of the youngest children are high. ECEC are governed by different policies embodied in both laws and curricula, and the framework of a curriculum plays a key role in ensuring the quality of ECEC services. The documents represent the content society wants the ECEC institutions to disseminate, and set out the values, objectives, and content of the work of pre-school teachers and serve as a point of reference for ECEC teachers and schools. The purpose of this study was to examine the values of movement and physical activity (MoPA) using government policy documents ECEC from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. Methods This descriptive, comparative study was designed based on curriculum theory and used word count and content analyses to examine values of MoPA and to identify similarities and differences in the ECEC policies of Nordic countries. Results Seven terms were identified as MoPA related; body, motor, move, physical activity, physical education, coordination, idrott/liikunta. These terms occurred in various content contexts: development, environment, expression, health and well-being, learning and play, albeit sparsely and were referred to as both a goal in itself and as a mean of achieving other goals (e.g., learning or development in another area). Formulations dedicated to MoPA as a goal were present in the Danish and Finnish curricula and, to some extent, also in the Norwegian, while the Icelandic and Swedish curricula mentioned MoPA only as a mean. Conclusion Findings indicated that MoPA, which are important for children's development, health, and well-being, is a low-priority value, to varying degrees, in the ECEC policies enacted by the Nordic countries. Thus, the guidance provided to educators and stakeholders therein is inexplicit. The low priority of the MoPA domain in the ECEC policies might negatively affect the possibility for young children to be physically active in preschools.


Background
The World Health Organization (WHO) acknowledges the importance of preschool children taking part in comprehensive physical activities supporting, among other things, their motor development, and competencies. A growing number of children attend early childhood education and care (ECEC), and expectations that this will support the development and learning of the youngest children are high. ECEC are governed by different policies embodied in both laws and curricula, and the framework of a curriculum plays a key role in ensuring the quality of ECEC services. The documents represent the content society wants the ECEC institutions to disseminate, and set out the values, objectives, and content of the work of pre-school teachers and serve as a point of reference for ECEC teachers and schools. The purpose of this study was to examine the values of movement and physical activity (MoPA) using government policy documents ECEC from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. Methods This descriptive, comparative study was designed based on curriculum theory and used word count and content analyses to examine values of MoPA and to identify similarities and differences in the ECEC policies of Nordic countries.

Results
Seven terms were identified as MoPA related; body, motor, move, physical activity, physical education, coordination, idrott/liikunta. These terms occurred in various content contexts: development, environment, expression, health and well-being, learning and play, albeit sparsely and were referred to as both a goal in itself and as a mean of achieving other goals (e.g., learning or development in another area). Formulations dedicated to MoPA as a goal were present in the Danish and Finnish curricula and, to some extent, also in the Norwegian, while the Icelandic and Swedish curricula mentioned MoPA only as a mean. Conclusion Findings indicated that MoPA, which are important for children's development, health, and well-being, is a lowpriority value, to varying degrees, in the ECEC policies enacted by the Nordic countries. Thus, the guidance provided to educators and stakeholders therein is inexplicit. The low priority of the MoPA domain in the ECEC policies might negatively affect the possibility for young children to be physically active in preschools. Keywords: curriculum, movement, physical activity, early childhood education and care, children Background Regular physical activity (PA) strengthens both the physical, psychological and social health in children and young people. Furthermore, research show that PA is beneficial for academic related outcomes. In 2014, the Danish government introduced a wide-ranging reform of primary and lower secondary education that applied to all public schools. A distinctive feature was that it became mandatory for schools to deliver an average of 45 minutes of daily PA. Local school heads and the school's capacity for change is considered key to deliver such a policy-driven requirement. Thus, the aim of this study is to explore the ability of schools to implement the stated requirement of 45 minutes of daily PA. There is special focus on the role and impact of leadership by school heads. Methods Eleven semi-structured interviews were conducted across eleven Danish schools. Respondents were school staff with management responsibilities (leading teachers with managerial duties, deputy heads and school heads). Thematic analyses were performed, focusing on factors relating to local organizational and leadership capacity.

Results
Three main factors were found to support the local leader's ability to the implement the mandatory daily PA: i) local school culture, values, and norms; ii) staff skillset and school resources; iii) existing work routines and systems.

Conclusion
Results indicate that local school heads are central in converting the Danish school requirement of 45 minutes of daily PA into local action. Future PA programs could benefit from focusing specifically on engaging school heads, as they can both help advance broad ambitions into concrete goals, secure supportive structures and organize the implementation strategy within the local setting. In connection with this heads must be able to rely on sufficient organizational ad administrative components to ensure quality delivery. This entails building sufficient competencies among relevant staff groups on, for instance, how to incorporate PA in daily practice as well as allocate work hours for further development of such practices. Also, assigning a local PA ambassadors is highlighted as an important implementation factor. The ambassadors can help build and disseminate knowledge and support the school Abstract citation ID: ckac095.005 P01-05 Development of the MOVING policy framework: monitoring and promoting action in physical activity policy

Background
The World Cancer Research Fund International's (WCRF International) analysis of global research shows a strong link between diet, physical activity, and risk of cancer. To address this, WCRF International has developed a package of policy resources to promote healthy diets and physical activity to support reporting, categorising and monitoring of policy actions. The MOVING policy framework was developed as a complement to the well-established NOURISHING framework of diet-related policies-outlining a comprehensive set of areas in which governments should take action to promote physical activity. The new framework forms the basis for the MOVING database of implemented policy actions.

Methods
For the MOVING framework, literature reviews were undertaken, and the results were distilled into policy categories on which academics and policy experts provided feedback. The